Methodological challenges when doing research that includes ethnic minorities: a scoping review

Background : In order to deliver sensitive and adequate healthcare interventions for populations including ethnic minorities, valid and reliable healthcare research are vital. Within healthcare research in general, including... [ view full abstract ]

Background :
In order to deliver sensitive and adequate healthcare interventions for populations including ethnic minorities, valid and reliable healthcare research are vital. Within healthcare research in general, including occupational therapy this means challenging methodological issues in obtaining valid and reliable results. The aim of this scoping review is to describe the methodological problems within healthcare research.

Method:
A scoping review was done, following Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework. A thorough literature search yielded 18 articles obtained from the scientific databases PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Science and PsychInfo and through search of chosen journals. A descriptive and a thematic analysis were applied to the data.

Results:
The results showed that there are methodological issues concerning the entire research process. The issues stems from the differences in conceptual understandings regarding the focus of the research and the lack of defining the participants and thus recruiting the appropriate samples. Another important issue is the lack of appropriate data collection instruments, e.g. whether to use questionnaires or interpreters. Analysis of data is also a challenge due to lack of representative data and/or language issues during interviews.

Application to Practice:
In order not to exclude ethnic minorities from adequate healthcare and healthcare research, developing and testing methods for the entire research process is needed. It is a costly and time-consuming process, but the results will be valid and reliable in a broader sense and therefore better applicable in today’s clinical practice. This will help to make healthcare adequate and more sensitive regarding ethnic minorities.